Florida and some other south eastern points may seems to have a strangle hold on the big powerboat events, but we can’t forget where a lot of these boaters come from. After a few dormant years of having speedboats running around Long Island Sound, the powerboats have returned to the infamous Port Washington LaMottas Restaurant and Manhasset Bay Marina, the home of many powerboat legends from yesterday. The NATIONAL POWERBOAT ASSOCIATION resumed producing one of its stellar events which fielded over 20 teams sporting the latest in hull and engine technology some of these boats are now running speeds in excess of 150 mph!

PARTYMASTER, the official NPBA Paceboat of Billy Frenz, a classic 10M Fountain lead the parade to the start line along with his daughter and Co-pilot, Allison and NPBA crewmembers.

Beginning at Buoy #27 off of Sands Point, located on the North shore of Long Island, at noon time, the fleet charted a course directly to Bridgeport, Connecticut, a mere 25 miles north, FOR Checkpoint #1.

Stu Hayim in his 2,700 HP Mercury powered 42 MTI Cat, FERRARI-MASERATI Special and Joe Castellana in his 2,400 HP Sterling powered 46 Skater Cat,AWESOME, immediately took the lead together, challenging our helicopter to keep up with them.

Bill Betz showed up in his 43 Outerlimits, QUICK GET AWAY and the Rifice/Ryan Team in their 32 Ilmor powered Skater Cat kept close company being just a few strides behind them. Joe Cibellis and Joe Sgro in their Ilmor powered 43 Outerlimits, quickly joined the leaders and eventually made it to Bridgeport ahead of all the other V-bottoms! By the way, this famous Outerlimits of Cibellis and Sgro, holds the V-bottom record of 3 hours and 5 minutes to circumnavigate Long Island, established on September 25, 2011 and of course Stu Hayim holds the overall record running the course in just 2 hours and 11 minutes.

The 2nd wave of the poker runners was lead by Tom Fancher of Full Throttle Marine in his tricked 37 Outerlimits powered by twin 557 inch blower motors and Mercury #5 Speedmasters, representing the old adage, There is no substitute for BIG cubic inches and BIG Horsepower.

At the other end of that scope, Sal Albanese, the fastest dentist from Westchester County, kept nipping at Full Throttle’s transom in his new, 35 Fountain, SABRINA, powered with staggered- Mercury 496/425HPs and Bravo XR Shorties with 5-blade Maximux props…yielding a whopping 84 MPH…all day long! The team from Mariner’s Cove Marina of Monstaaa Bo, Ronnie and Vinnie-deserve a lot of credit for preparing this machine and keep it going for so long and so fast! This boat represents the pinnacle of Reggie Fountains constant drive at research and development to produce the Fastest V-Bottom.

Joe Kashinsky followed closely in his 35 Fountain with Mercury 496/425 HP’s and 5 blade props on Bravo XR outdrives…to the tune of 80+ MPH…. another shining example of Reggie making boats go fast with stock, Mercury powerplants.

After picking up card number 1 at the Dolphin Cove Restaurant and Marina in Bridgeport harbor, the fleet headed for Cold Spring Harbor, inside of Oyster Bay, back on the North shoreline of Long Island to pick up card No. 2 at the Official Albin Marine Trawler of Fred Peters. Scott Carol blazed a trail in his 38 Cigarette, PATRIOT with Larry Broadbent navigating the way.

Professional poker runner, Fran Maryfark from Burlington, CT, came down to play and ran his 353 Formula, “YEAH BABY” with Merc 800 HPs reworked by Chris Cestarro’s Ocean Performance of Old Saybrook, Ct. Fran’s combination of pistons, gears and props produces almost 90 mph!…YEAH BABY!!!

A famous poker runner paid us a visit incognito in Oyster Bay, but not in his 42 MTI, instead using his tricked 40 center-console, manufactured by Johnny Tomlinson. Sporting triple outboards and a hard-top…we spotted lil Wesley first…then the illustrious Tommy Abraham appeared

John Durante in his 35 Sonic, HERE’S JOHNNY with Merc 575 HPs and XR drives , was the 1st boat to Port Chester Yacht Club on the Byram River, the border line between Connecticut and the State of New York. Future events will lead us up this river to the home of the SHOWBOAT RIVERBOAT, a dockside attraction in the new downtown waterfront redevelopment.

Sam Galasso in his 38 Fountain with 700 HP Mercs showed the fleet what 100+mph looks like on the way back to Checkpoint #4/LaMotta’s Restaurant. NXT outdrives and 17 by 39 Hering props ‘live’ at those triple digit speeds with no effort…kinda gives you that chill up the spine excitement!

Marshall May dazzled the crowd in his expertly restored (by Full Throttle Marine) 27 Magnum Marine Starfire , MAYHEM, powered by twin 550 HP blown big-blocks…another 80+mph classic v-bottom!

All in all an incredibly exciting group of powerboat enthusiasts tearing up Long Island Sound! We are looking forward to great news and events from Billy and his National Powerboat Association.

Florida and some other south eastern points may seems to have a strangle hold on the big powerboat events, but we can’t forget where a lot of these boaters come from. After a few dormant years of having speedboats running around Long Island Sound, the powerboats have returned to the infamous Port Washington LaMottas Restaurant and Manhasset Bay Marina, the home of many powerboat legends from yesterday. The NATIONAL POWERBOAT ASSOCIATION resumed producing one of its stellar events which fielded over 20 teams sporting the latest in hull and engine technology some of these boats are now running speeds in excess of 150 mph!

PARTYMASTER, the official NPBA Paceboat of Billy Frenz, a classic 10M Fountain lead the parade to the start line along with his daughter and Co-pilot, Allison and NPBA crewmembers.

Beginning at Buoy #27 off of Sands Point, located on the North shore of Long Island, at noon time, the fleet charted a course directly to Bridgeport, Connecticut, a mere 25 miles north, FOR Checkpoint #1.

Stu Hayim in his 2,700 HP Mercury powered 42 MTI Cat, FERRARI-MASERATI Special and Joe Castellana in his 2,400 HP Sterling powered 46 Skater Cat,AWESOME, immediately took the lead together, challenging our helicopter to keep up with them.

Bill Betz showed up in his 43 Outerlimits, QUICK GET AWAY and the Rifice/Ryan Team in their 32 Ilmor powered Skater Cat kept close company being just a few strides behind them. Joe Cibellis and Joe Sgro in their Ilmor powered 43 Outerlimits, quickly joined the leaders and eventually made it to Bridgeport ahead of all the other V-bottoms! By the way, this famous Outerlimits of Cibellis and Sgro, holds the V-bottom record of 3 hours and 5 minutes to circumnavigate Long Island, established on September 25, 2011 and of course Stu Hayim holds the overall record running the course in just 2 hours and 11 minutes.

The 2nd wave of the poker runners was lead by Tom Fancher of Full Throttle Marine in his tricked 37 Outerlimits powered by twin 557 inch blower motors and Mercury #5 Speedmasters, representing the old adage, There is no substitute for BIG cubic inches and BIG Horsepower.

At the other end of that scope, Sal Albanese, the fastest dentist from Westchester County, kept nipping at Full Throttle’s transom in his new, 35 Fountain, SABRINA, powered with staggered- Mercury 496/425HPs and Bravo XR Shorties with 5-blade Maximux props…yielding a whopping 84 MPH…all day long! The team from Mariner’s Cove Marina of Monstaaa Bo, Ronnie and Vinnie-deserve a lot of credit for preparing this machine and keep it going for so long and so fast! This boat represents the pinnacle of Reggie Fountains constant drive at research and development to produce the Fastest V-Bottom.

Joe Kashinsky followed closely in his 35 Fountain with Mercury 496/425 HP’s and 5 blade props on Bravo XR outdrives…to the tune of 80+ MPH…. another shining example of Reggie making boats go fast with stock, Mercury powerplants.

After picking up card number 1 at the Dolphin Cove Restaurant and Marina in Bridgeport harbor, the fleet headed for Cold Spring Harbor, inside of Oyster Bay, back on the North shoreline of Long Island to pick up card No. 2 at the Official Albin Marine Trawler of Fred Peters. Scott Carol blazed a trail in his 38 Cigarette, PATRIOT with Larry Broadbent navigating the way.

Professional poker runner, Fran Maryfark from Burlington, CT, came down to play and ran his 353 Formula, “YEAH BABY” with Merc 800 HPs reworked by Chris Cestarro’s Ocean Performance of Old Saybrook, Ct. Fran’s combination of pistons, gears and props produces almost 90 mph!…YEAH BABY!!!

A famous poker runner paid us a visit incognito in Oyster Bay, but not in his 42 MTI, instead using his tricked 40 center-console, manufactured by Johnny Tomlinson. Sporting triple outboards and a hard-top…we spotted lil Wesley first…then the illustrious Tommy Abraham appeared

John Durante in his 35 Sonic, HERE’S JOHNNY with Merc 575 HPs and XR drives , was the 1st boat to Port Chester Yacht Club on the Byram River, the border line between Connecticut and the State of New York. Future events will lead us up this river to the home of the SHOWBOAT RIVERBOAT, a dockside attraction in the new downtown waterfront redevelopment.

Sam Galasso in his 38 Fountain with 700 HP Mercs showed the fleet what 100+mph looks like on the way back to Checkpoint #4/LaMotta’s Restaurant. NXT outdrives and 17 by 39 Hering props ‘live’ at those triple digit speeds with no effort…kinda gives you that chill up the spine excitement!

Marshall May dazzled the crowd in his expertly restored (by Full Throttle Marine) 27 Magnum Marine Starfire , MAYHEM, powered by twin 550 HP blown big-blocks…another 80+mph classic v-bottom!

All in all an incredibly exciting group of powerboat enthusiasts tearing up Long Island Sound! We are looking forward to great news and events from Billy and his National Powerboat Association.

The new SV 43 Sit Down nears completion at Outerlimits Powerboats so it can be shipped south for the Miami Boat Show. This new design of the SV43 was built for, and in collaboration with Dustin Whipple of Whipple industries. After seeing the rendering we had to ask where the design came from and how it was developed. In a brief interview with Dustin, he explained he had a vision but wasn’t sure how to bring it to fruition. It needed to be unique, trend setting, and yet timeless. He didn’t want the boat to look like anyone else’s. He insisted is had to show individuality but also show the prominent Whipple Industries colors. Dustin explained “I refuse to stand for or accept anything but the very best in our products and I wouldn’t do anything different with the boat that is a flagship of Whipple industries. Just as we turn to our engineering staff for parts development I chose to turn to Thomas Kulesia of No-Coast designs located in Elkhart Indiana”. www.no-coastdesign.com Dustin explained that Thomas was amazing to work with and that they had gone through numerous revisions as Thomas patiently took the image of what was in Dustin’s head and turned it into the amazing graphics coming to life at Outerlimits for the new boat that will be displayed in Miami.

NO-Coast is not a new comer to the custom design and paint world. They have quite possibly been the best kept secret and hidden arsenal of custom boat, coach, and semi trailer painters in the country. Both corporate giants seeking branding excellence as well celebrity performers have chosen Thomas’s work for the vehicles of choice. So if you’re ever fortunate enough to order a new ride or have your present rides redone with the “Ultimate” look this might be where you will end up. If the sky is the limit for your new boat build what might it look like?

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Even during the great depression of 1929 Yacht Builders continued to build yachts for the very wealthy. Then as now with great economic uncertainty, the one thing than remains true is the builders that build the very best products are still coveted and in high demand. No one needs to stand up and cheer for Peter Hledin’s Skater Powerboats as they have built a world class reputation for themselves. But what is exciting to see is the Armada of Incredible hardware he has slated to display in Miami.

The boats coming to Miami are just a small example of the product line and truly shows nearly nothing is out of the realm of possibility at Skater. These boats have been specifically customer tailored for performance boating elite customers. A new 388 “Dirty Duck” for Slug Hefner will debut as well as Gary College’s enclosed top 388 and a new and Incredible 50′ catamaran, all of these boats are powered by a standard Mercury Racing 1350/M8 package.

While we are all anxious to see these new rides at the boat show, I am really looking forward to see them around the country running on the water!

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If only I had enough time and money to attend all the great boating events around the country.This past weekend we missed a great event on the west coast of Florida with the Fort Myers Offshore Club http://ftmyersoffshore.com/ at their 2nd Annual run to the Sarasota Hyatt. With over 30 boats in attendance, perfect weather accompanied the Powerboat Flotilla on a 82 mile one way run from Fort Myers to Sarasota on Friday and then back again on Sunday.

The Fort Myers Offshore Club is a registered 501 (c) 3 not for profit and raises money for a variety of charitable organizations and has raised a bunch of money in a few short years. The clubs creator Mr. Bob Barnhart AKA BobtheBuilder is a serious adventure powerboater. He has run his Nor-Techs all the way to Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean and is an official record holder. No distance or endurance challenge seems to be to great or too much for this incredible enthusiast who loves to go boating. I look forward to adding these events to next years calendar. Here is a rundown of the generous powerboaters who attended:

1) Bob Barnhart, 50 Nor Tech
2) Tom & Rhonda Derhammer, 37 Active Thunder
3)Steve & Laura Behnke, 37 Active Thunder
4) Eric & Keri Belisle, 32 Spectre
5) Andy Templeman, 43 Donzi
6)Alan Doherty, 38 Cig Top Gun
7) Sam & Joy Maye, 42 Fountain
8) Bill & Lori Lemanske,39 Nor Tech CC
9) Bob & Jane Burger, 39 Nor Tech
10) Don & Amanda Gardner, 32 Doug Wright
11) Rob D’Angelo, 38 Donzi
12) Bob & Betsy MacDonald;38 Awesome cat
13) Dennis Sinacola,43 Black Thunder
14) Pierre & Meghan Brousseau, 36 Nor Tech cat
15) Keith & Audrey Workman, 42 Fountain
16) Kenny Disturbing Behaviour Jensen, 44 Nor Tech Cat
17) Guy Poirier, Charlie Costa;
18) Stan & Inez Quinn 32 Sunsation
19) Don Messner,38 Cigarette
20) Gar and Phyllis Menafee, 33′ Fountain
21) Brad & Tami Sanders , Motion
22) Mike Case, IN , 37 Active Thunder *
23) Alec Cloke, 43 Nor Tech CC
24) Bob Martin, 39 Sutphen
25) Glen Fuller / Jeff Haylett, 47 Outerlimits
26) Brian & Jill Hoagg, 34 Hustler
27) Bill Buchanan, 29 Fountain
28) Ken & Karen Trelfa / FMB; MI
29) Martin Proulx, 39 Outerlimits
30) Ryan McClay, 34 Nor Tech CC
31) Bill Robbins/Scott Ryerson 40 Nor-Tech Roadster

All Photos courtesy of Naples Images

Well whether you took the title seriously or not your going to take the cause seriously very fast. I’m not talking about environmental issues here I’m talking about the introductions of E15 ethanol fuel into the market place. I’m talking about the danger this product carries with it to your engine and your shining exhaust headers or manifolds, fuel pumps, engine valves, etc. and you may not even realize whats happening. Don’t feel bad because much of America didn’t even realize what was happening right under our nose. You see in an effort to increase profitability for fuel makers you’ve been put at extreme risk of this product causing thousands of dollars of damage to your power boat.

At Powerboat Nation we are actually boaters and have deep roots and relationships with the marine industry’s part and engine manufactures. This history and these relationships provide you numerous behind the scenes views of whats happening in the here and now. From our investigating into this subject we are hearing horror stories of product and part failures that are destroying these components in a unheard of matter of time. The cause? It is E15 and it is being substituted for traditional gasoline blends all over the country. This new ethanol blend is causing engine corrosion both on the intake and exhaust sides of the engine as well as the fuel system. It is the #1 cause current cause of failure to the marine and automotive manufactures and they are now rewriting their warranty claims.

While the Automotive industry has its own issues with the product the marine industry faces an even worse problem. You see as you introduce salt water into the equation with ethanol They create an extreme “SUPER-CAUSTIC” mixture that will literally corrode and eat at the properties of stainless steel and cast aluminum.These two materials are both commonly found in marine exhaust systems. Exhaust manufactures have presented samples that show the E15 based fuel in conjunction with the salt water present are pitting and eating away at the exhaust systems from the inside out. Previous concerns were just that salt water and its corrosive properties were destroying the header from the water side. Now manufactures are stating they are seeing erosion failures from the exhaust flow side. The new E15 blend is acting as a “Cancer” type result that is eating engine components.

While we cannot control the the ethanol content in the fuel at this time a focus should be on reducing any or the amount of salt water an engine ingests. Leaking tail pipes and or reversion are the primary causes. Saltwater droplets that dry inside the header will literally attack the materials.

Below I am going to just show some excerpts of the battles going on among manufactures and the government and fuel suppliers. for example:

Warnings Not to Use “E15” Gas in Your Car or Boat

http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/2000862202001/

Petition Denied For EPA Case Regarding Use of E15 Ethanol Blended Fuel

http://www.enginebuildermag.com/Arti…nded_fuel.aspx

According to AFPM, several studies have shown that E15 causes engine damage to passenger vehicles, boats and outdoor power equipment, including chainsaws and lawnmowers, and has led the association and other industry groups to raise concerns about a fuel not approved for use by the manufacturers of more than 228 million vehicles on the road today.

A recent survey by the American Automobile Association (AAA) reported that 95 percent of consumers surveyed had not heard of E15 gasoline, which AFPM says lends credence to the potential for misuse and engine harm as well as creating safety, liability and warranty issues.

“We are analyzing the decision and will determine whether to seek review by the Supreme Court. Judge Kavanaugh issued a strong dissent based on EPA’s acknowledgment that E15 damages cars and specifically referenced a recent AAA warning calling upon EPA to block the sale of E15,” Moskowitz concluded.

AAA warns E15 gasoline causes damage

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/30/aaa-e15-gas-harm-cars/1735793/

Gasoline blended with 10% ethanol has become standard at most of the nation’s 160,000 gas stations, spurred by federal laws and standards designed to use more renewable energy sources and lessen the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. Pushed by ethanol producers, the EPA approved the use of E15 — a 15% ethanol-gasoline blend — in June over objections from automakers and the oil industry. It’s been available at a handful of outlets in Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska since July

You know you love your boat, right? But just how much do you love your boat? Or for that matter just how much are you in love with your significant other? I mean at some point common sense comes in right? Or maybe not. In this case we were left to ponder just what love has got to do with it. Now we here at Powerboat Nation have years and years of boating history and we’ve seen some crazy tow rig combinations. Traditionally we’ve seen them in the lovely warm spring and summer months. But this combo set an all new high on you have to be kidding bar for us.

It seems this gentleman that owns both this corvette and the blown gas Sanger jet hydro were on the mission of his life. After a brief interview with the owner we were told that he had found love on the internet and that he was on a mission to be with her. The problem being she was on the east coat and he on the west coast in California. Refusing to leave behind his true love, the boat he set off to have a hitch installed and haul the boat east bound to Florida in the dead of winter during the holidays. We kept tabs just to make sure he made it and he did. 3200 miles in four days. Crazy, Insane, or just in love either way could you imagine crossing mountain pathways with a corvette and hydro behind you in the snow? I bet it makes the weird twitches that boat sends out during acceleration seem like a gentle fall breeze in comparison. Well in a last note it seems the woman was not all she was cracked up to be or maybe just a crack pot we are told. The owner now resides in Florida and says at least I’ve got my boat.

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Lately, there has been a lot of questions to the reality of making “BIG” horsepower or as it’s become known lately on the PBN forums: “Unicorns”. We did a little in depth look at just how many different guys are now making some big power.

In today’s world of horsepower, the limits once placed on engines have been tossed out. Whether, were growing engine sizes 15-20% or 800-100 cubic inches; with advances in technology, the power range of an engine is forever changing. Turbos make the possibility of power endless in a 600-plus cubic inch engine. One of the most recent Monsters to come out, guns blazing, comes from a racing engine builder in Muskegon, Michigan. A 600 cubic inch big block charting at 3,100 horsepower @ 7,000 rpm.

Out of some of the highly guarded secrets, what we do know is, the engine uses a set of Big Chief 14- degree cylinder heads and two 91mm turbochargers. Running at 7,000 rpm, with mid 20 plus psi of boost during the dyno testing, this big block puts out 3,132.7 horsepower. This is incredible, considering, this engine could have easily gone beyond this point. Someday, in the not-too-far off future, we’ll see these 600 ci big blocks hit 4,000 hp and so on. Just watch and see!

Three crooks were captured on camera while stealing the high performance boat right from Nor-Techs yard late Last Sunday Night. Not only did these criminals haul off the boat, they did it with one of Nor-Techs own trucks! The Crime was all caught on camera at the Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats Company in North Fort Myers. The three crooks got away with a $400,000 boat and as of a week later, nothing has been recovered.

The Stolen Boat

“They broke into our truck which was hooked up to one of our customer’s boats and about a half hour later they took off with our truck, customer’s boat and trailer,” said Terry Sobo, with Nor-Tech. “It kind of makes you sick, you know? You feel pretty violated.”

Boats like these are stolen often by Drug Smugglers and Human Traffickers. Nor-Tech officials say they believe the crooks took the boat for these specific reasons.

“They’ll get the boat down to Cuba then do some human smuggling into Mexico with them and the boats are typically abandoned once they get there,” Sobo said.

Thieves like this usually have this operation down to a science. The boat will hit the water within hours of being stolen, and will usually meetup with another boat offshore for a fill-up on fuel if need be. Most end up in Cuba, then are routed to Mexico with Humans or Drugs as their cargo. After the boats arrive in Mexico, they are usually abandoned and then recovered by the Mexican Government and simply put in floating storage at a government dock in places like Isla Mujeres, which is near Mexico’s closest point to Cuba.

Boats at a Government Dock in Mexico

The two Cameras on a neighboring business caught the act and Sobo says he hopes this surveillance footage will help lead to arrests and possibly the return of his customer’s boat.

“Again, it’s just amazing that they would pick something so ostentatious and flamboyant to get away with,” he said.

Link to Local News Video

During last year’s Miami Boat show, long time MTI dealer Larry Goldman of Extreme Powerboats sold the first production MTI Center Console from the model on display. The buyer who is a multi boat owner with boats and homes in Miami and Europe and is giving up his current ride, a big power 42 Outerlimits for this new center console and is looking forward to a different boating experience.

The idea of being able to entertain many guests aboard and show them the wonderful Miami boating lifestyle in this stylized new model is very appealing to this active family.

Giving up big block power does not come easy for performance purists and to suggest a center console is a simple substitute for performance and the ride at speed, could be described as a stretch, BUT, the cost of ownership, ease of care, and utility of these boats makes them hard to beat for a pragmatic performance power boater.

The MTI offering to the center console rush could be the closest boat to the performance side of our world. This 42SV MTI center console has been carefully and thoughtfully designed to meet the utility design and keep the heart of the boat in high performance.

Larry Goldman based in Miami has sold way too many MTI Cat’s to list and has tons of time in other center consoles. He described this new SV 42 as “Incredible”. Larry said “The ride is outstanding; the boat accelerated, turned, and handled big water unbelievably well” We look forward to our first South Beach test ride in this new Sport Vessel from MTI.

This Sunday January 13th Powerboat Nation took part in a powerboat display in Palm Beach at the final day of Super Car Week in Palm Beach, Fl organized by SuperCarWeek.com

Joining us were Offshore Races Teams, GEICO, AQUAMANIA, P1 and a display of boats from Extreme Powerboats. The day was a huge success for Palm Beach with a reported 60,000 attendees strolling through the boat, auto, bike displays and exhibits. Hundreds of over the top exotics, hot rods, choppers, and all other variants’ were on hand.

Just to demonstrate the difference between the car sound and boat sound. Powerboat Nation and Larry Goldman of Extreme Powerboats placed a hush over the whine and snap of the Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s, and muscle cars by firing off a 1550 Sterling Race Engine on the main road to give the car guys an idea of what a offshore race engine sounds like. To say the least this was very well received by the huge crowd on hand and yes I may have scared some old women and babies. Sorry for that!

The cross over from the Palm Beach car crowd into the world of performance Powerboating was really well received and we met up with many familiar faces as well as making new friends.

The producers of this event are friends of mine and were glad to support them this weekend and we are also excited to know they have secured a deal for a replacement to the PRI show previously held in Orlando each December and we will be at Disney this December to participated in a great performance industry event in Orlando at a Disney Park!